Morning Chirps: Pridham, Kitchener win OHL title, Cassidy drama in Edmonton

One Chicago Blackhawks prospect celebrated a championship last night while moving on to one final tournament. Another prospect had his season come to an end. Get caught up on all the news with today’s Morning Chirps!

Blackhawks Chirps

• The home stretch wasn’t great, but there were still plenty of good games during the Blackhawks season. Jeff Maroon highlighted three of the best ones. Hopefully, there are more of these next season.

• Speaking of next season, Josh Prost explores who should back up Spencer Knight in the Blackhawks’ crease.

• The Kitchener Rangers are the 2026 Ontario Hockey League champions, after completing their four-game sweep of the Barrie Colts with a 3-2 win last night. They had an impressive 16-2 run through the postseason, which isn’t over yet. This is their fifth J. Ross Robinson Cup and first since 2008. Blackhawks prospect Jack Pridham had two goals and 17 points in their run to the title. Next up is the Memorial Cup, which begins a week from Friday. They join the hosting Kelowna Rockets as we wait on the WHL and QMJHL champions.

• Mason West’s season came to an end last night as the Fargo Force lost 3-2 to the Sioux Falls Stampede in Game 5 of the USHL Western Conference Finals. West finished his postseason with two goals and six points in nine postseason games, after 10 goals and 25 points in 38 regular-season games. He will attend Michigan State in the fall. Sioux Falls will play the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the Clark Cup Finals.

• On this date in 1971, the Blackhawks took a 3-2 lead in the Stanley Cup Final with a 2-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 5. Bobby Hull set a new franchise record for scoring in a single playoff when he picked up his 22nd point with an assist on a goal by his brother Dennis. Tony Esposito made 31 saves to earn his second shutout of the series.

• In 1995, Murray Craven was the hero with a goal and an assist as the Blackhawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. Joe Murphy and Jeff Shantz had the other goals as the Blackhawks evened the series 2-2 after losing the first two games on home ice.

• In 2014, the Blackhawks eliminated the Minnesota Wild with a 2-1 overtime win in Game 6 of their Second Round series. Kris Versteeg scored an unassisted goal at 1:58 of the first period and didn’t score again until Patrick Kane netted the series-clinching goal 9:42 into overtime. Corey Crawford was spectacular, making 34 saves.

• Blackhawks Birthday Roll Call, May 13: Babe Dye, Jamie Allison, and Kris Versteeg.

NHL Chirps

• Game 4 between the Buffalo Sabres and the Canadiens had a little bit of everything, including a ton of penalties. For the second straight game, the Sabres scored first. They thought they had a 2-0 lead after a lengthy review awarded them a goal despite the puck being in Jakub Dobes’ glove. However, Martin St. Louis successfully challenged for goaltender interference, getting the goal taken off the board. Alex Newhook tied the game with his fifth goal in the last three games before Cole Caufield scored in the final minute of the opening frame. Tage Thompson tied the game with a fluky power-play goal early in the second period when his dump-in pass bounced off the dasher boards and got in behind Dobes. Zach Benson, celebrating his 21st birthday, scored the game-winning goal on an early third-period power play. Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen made 28 saves in his first start since Game 2 of the first round. The pivotal Game 5 is back in Buffalo on Thursday.

• The Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights haven’t played many low-scoring games during the postseason, but that’s exactly what we got last night. The Ducks scored first, as Beckett Sennecke notched his fifth goal while on the power play. They only scored the one goal on a five-minute power play after Brayden McNabb was given a major and game misconduct for a big hit that injured Ryan Poehling. Pavel Dorofeyev got that goal back before the end of the opening frame. After going 29 games without a goal, Tomas Hertl scored his second in as many games to put Vegas up 2-1 early in the third period. The kids got Anaheim even with just over three minutes to play, as Owen Zellweger’s first career playoff goal forced overtime. The extra time lasted just over four minutes, as Dorofeyev’s second goal of the night put the Golden Knights up 3-2 in the series. Game 6 will be back in Anaheim on Thursday.

• Neither Joel Eriksson Ek nor Jonas Brodin traveled with the Minnesota Wild to Denver for tonight’s Game 5. The Colorado Avalanche can end the series with a win.

• There is little doubt Bruce Cassidy will be back behind an NHL bench soon, but it would be for the Edmonton Oilers. According to Frank Servalli, they asked the Golden Knights for permission to talk to him since he’s still under contract, but the request was denied. This is strange considering that the Oilers haven’t fired Chris Knoblauch. However, according to multiple reports, Cassidy has interviewed with the Los Angeles Kings.

• Sidney Crosby has been added to Team Canada’s roster for the IIHF World Championships, which begin on Friday. They also added Dawson Mercer of the New Jersey Devils, while New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal was removed as a precaution due to a “minor, pre-existing injury.”

• Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy has been suspended for the first six games of the 2026-27 season for his dangerous slash on Benson back in the first round.

• The Columbus Blue Jackets signed Charlie Coyle to a six-year, $36 million contract extension. While the veteran center was very good for the Blue Jackets, giving a 34-year-old a six-year deal is a strange decision.

• NHL Birthday Roll Call, May 13: Ron Wilson, Darry Sydor, Matt Greene, Travis Zajac, Jaroslav Halak, Jared Boll, P.K. Subban, Mark Stone, and Michael Amadio.

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